Game device simulating a western rodeo



Sept. 16, 1952 K. F. CARD 2,610,854

GAME DEVICE SIMULATING A WESTERN RODEO I Filed July 14, 1950 i :s Sheets-Sheet 1 KENNETH F'- CARD} INVENTOR,

A TTORNE K Sept. 16, 1952 K. F. CARD 2,610,854

GAME DEVICE SIMULATING A WESTERN RODEO Filed July 14, 1950 v 3Sheets-Sheet 2 62 14; L HAMP/ONCOWBOV [El 1m 2 L: Q g i k 8 3 1: g *1 JE o a; Q 2 i Q J E 2 a Q :1

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ATTORNEY,

Sept. 16, 1952 K. F. CARD GAME DEVICE SIMULATING A WESTERN RODEO 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 14. 1950 KENNETH F. CARD,

INVENTOR. WW

A TT'ORNEK Patented Sept. 16, 1952 Kenneth F. Card, Canova, Park, Califassignor 1Q a,

of one-third to James L. Austin, Los Angeles,"

Calif., and one-third to George F Smyth,

Inglewood, Calif.

Application July 14, 1950, Serial No. 173,914

, Claims. (crews-+134 My invention relates to equipment for playinsimbuck off the rider, catching cattle and calves by riding them down,or riding Brahma bulls, for a minimum length of time and the equipmentof the game of my invention is intended to enable players to partake ina game which simulates such rodeo events. I

, An object of my invention is to provide equip: ment for playing arodeo game including a miniature reproduction of a typical rodeo arenaand having parts arranged and operating in a man ner to give the playersan approximation of the interest and stimulation of participating at anactual rodeo. Afurther object of my invention is to provide pieces forplaying the game, of sucha character. as to enable pieces to becombinedwith'others in various combinations to maintain arealisticresemblance of the course of events in arodeo.

A still further object of my invention is to provide equipment forplaying a rodeo game which is simple and inexpensive to produce, yetwhich is very attractive because of tis accurat representation ofcowboys and; cow ponies, Brahma bulls, calves and other'animals appear:ing in a rodeo and also because of its'accurate reproduction of therails with movable. gates, pens for livestock and the other featuresofan actual rodeo, and the construction of v at least some of the cowboysso that, when not in action in] the game, they maybe set upon the rails,which is their usual position in; anactuai rodeo. Other feautres andadvantages of the present invention will be hereinafter apparentfrom thefollowing description, particularly when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in

which i 7 Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the game board. andgame pieces for playing the rodeo game of my invention set up ready foruse, Figure 2 is a plan view showing the arrange ment of the playingboard;

Figure 3 is a front view of a cowboy playing piece showing the piecepositioned on the rails enclosing the rodeo ground;

Figure 4 is a plan view of. a spinner used in playing the game;

- material.

Figure 5 is a side view of a. cowboy playing piece mounted on one formof a piece represent: ing the type ofcow pony used in some events of arodeo simulated in playing the game;

Figure 6 is a cross section on the line 6-}6 of Figure-5, but showingthe game pieces separated to more clearly illustrate the interengagingelementsthereof; and v 1. H

Figure 7 is a cross section on the .line 1- -1101. Figure3f The game ofthe present invention, referring now to the. drawing andmore',-particularly1'to Figure 1 thereof, comprises a boardrlll uponwhich the component elements simulating ,a rodeo ground are mounted,preferably remove ably arranged so that the game apparatus-may be takendown and packed .into] a",.small er..bo: than would be. required ifthe.componentparts are left assembled. The board ill, of course, replresentsthe ground and the central portion there"- of, simulating the actualarena mayfbepoloi'ed a tan color as the usual custom is to covrthe arena.with tan bark, sand or othe 'su1"b l e The arena orfridin'g area isenclosed by fence structure as'in actual 'rodeo .c'ompetitionsand thefence, in the illustrated embodiment of the inventio'mis c' om'prisedpfposts TH. seams openings formed in the b'oard l0 and interconnected bylower and upper rails 12 and [3, respectively. The rails are preferably.made of rectangular strips ofsome suitable material andIfma'y be givenanycolordes'ired. fAt'v one end of the arena, a starting gate I4 isarranged,.-and attlie ob;- posite end, an exit gate [5 is located, both'gates being hingedly mounted' Thespace'outwardly of the starting gateconstitutes an area known as the,.chute and is so' labeled.

Arranged. across the"are'naf and ei'itendin tween thegates I4 and 15are; series of spaced play .demarking "spaces ,.l 6, he rleshown as'l'io'r'se hoof prints'arrang'ed ma somewhat sepentine pattern. Thesespaces are consecutively bered and the space numbered f5Tisf enclosed orcircumscribed by a jagged-line, he urppse of which will be madeclear'herinaftenf I The chute in actual rodeo competition is used toconfine ananimal about tobe ridden'by a cowboy and in the game herein.shown, is used in substantially the same way for ,it. as Willb shown, iswhere the play for each event of the game commences. Th'e chute isdefined by the adjacent rails of spaced apart pens li and- ,1 8,

which rails are similar'in structure -and;deS, ,gn

to the rails l2 and 3 of the main arena, The

pen I! is to be occupied during the play of the game by a game piece [3in the form of a small replica of a calf simulating a calf which isroped and thrown in actual rodeo competition. The pen [8 is to hold agame piece 2| in the form of a Brahma bull and, as in actualrodeocompetition, ridden by game pieces representing the cowboys of thegame. Adjacent the pen I! is a similar pen 22 for holding a game piece23 which is a replica of a horse in a bucking stance;

At the finish end of the main arena formed by the rail enclosure are twopens 24 and 25 arranged to hold, respectively, a gamepiece; 28-inthe-form of a jackass and a game piece 2'1 in theiform of av horse ina running stance. The game piece 21' is preferably given a gold colorfor a purpose which will be hereinafter more fully apparent- I The gameincludes, in addition to the game pieces above described, four identicalgame pieces 28, one of which is shown in Figure 5, and each consists ofa small replica of a horse in a running stance; The game pieces '28 arepreferably formed each of a different color so tha't each may bedistinguished one from the other. These game pieces are to simulate thecow ponies to be ridden by the cowboy game pieces 29 during the play ofthe game and the game pieces 29 simulating the cowboys are preferablyformed so that they can be seated on the top rail I3 or on any one ofthe game pieces in the form of animals ridden in a rodeo.

For this purpose the: portion of the game piece corresponding to thebuttocks of the cowboy may be formed-with a small groove 31 to receivethe top rail jl 3-of the main enclosure. The game piece may then'beperched on the top rail in a very realistic-attitude to simulate theusual position of a cowboy watching his competitors complete' events inthe rodeo.

To securely mount the game pieces 29 representing the cowboys to any ofthe game pieces simulating the animals ridden,.th e adjacent faces 32 ofthe cowboys legs, as' clearly shown in Figure 3, are, planar and thesefaces are adapted to engage with planar mug of grooves 33 formed in theopposite surfaces of each game piece simulating an animal to be riddenby the cowboys in the play of the game. This feature is bestillustrated'in Figure 6 of the drawing.

'Th grooves 33 formed in theopposite surfaces ermgame pieces'simulatingthe animals tobe riddenare quite shallow and do not detract fromthe'realisticappearance ofthe game pieces and are practically invisiblewhen the cowboy game piece is mounted thereon. I v

If desired, the game pieces 29 could be formed on the'portioncorresponding to the posterior of the figure with a small peg or thelike which could herece'ived' within an opening. formed in the'topsurfaceof the game pieces simulating the animals tobe'ridden. Thispegcould also be used to seat the cowboy in some desired position on therail enclosure as}. for example, by merely forming small openingjsin thetop surface of theposts' I I which would receive the peg and hold thesame piece in position.

The spinner with which the game, in it's now preferred embodiment, isplayed is shown at 36 iii Figure land comprises a small board havingnumerals running in a double series from 1 to 4. Preferably the circlein which they are printed isin the form of a representation of a wagonwheel, while the spinner or pointer 38 which is 'ro'tatably mounted on avertical stem is formed of a piece of suitable material twisted torepreevent and each player must finish the event he is competing inbefore the next player takes his turn. The player who is able tocomplete the three events with the lowest number of points is the winnerof the game and to this player goes the honor of riding the gold horsegame piece 21: in' the nextrodeo, that is, the next series of eventsforming the game. The player who in each game finishes with the highestnumber of points is the losing cowboy, and must ride the jackass in thenext rodeo.

The game pieces are moved across the arena in accordance with the numberof plays indicated after operation of'the spinner and the score for eachevent is determined by the number of spins it takes a player to completeeach event. The score for the complete game is determined by adding thepoints of the three events.

At the commencement of the game each player selects the game piecesrepresenting his own cow boy and horse. In the first event, the gamepiece 23 which, as will be remembered, is in the form of a horse in abucking stance, is placed in the chute and the first player positionshis cowboy game piece on the bucking horse after which the player spinsthe spinner and, after opening the gate I4, moves the bucking horse andhis cowboy the number of spaces l6 indicated by the spinner. The scorefor each player in this event is the number of spins of the spinner thatthe player takes to move the bucking horse with his cowboy up across thearena and out the exit gate. In the play of this event, if any playerscowboy riding the bucking horse lands on-horse hoofprint numbered 5,that cowboy is thrown by the bucking horse and the event for that playerends. The score for the cowboy thrown is determined by adding threepoints to the number of spins of the spinner previously taken by thatplayer.

In the secondor calf roping event, the game piece [9 representing thecalf is taken from the pen I! and placed in the chute just in front ofthe cowboy game 'piece 29 which is now mounted on the game piece 28 orcowpony game piece. The 'player now spins the spinner and moves thecalfthe number of spaces or prints I6 indicated by the spinner. Thisplayer then again spins the spinner and moves his horse and cowboy thenumber of spaces shown by the spinner. The spinner is repeatedly spun bythe same player to first'move the calf and then hi horse and cowboyuntil his horse and cowboy catches up with or passes the calf. The eventi over for each player if his horse and cowboy catches or passes thecalf before the calf is moved outof the arena. If a players horse andcowboy does not catch or pass the calf before the calf moves out of thearena, that player spins the spinner until his horse and cowboy aremoved across and out of the arena. Points for that player are scored byadding to the number of spins taken to move the horse and cowboy acrossthe arena a penalty of five points. If the losing cowboy of the previousgame riding the jackass in this event does not overtake or pass the calfbefore the calf is moved out of the arena, he 'must add to his score apenalty of ten points. If the losing cowboy riding the jackass catchesor passes the calf,

he subtracts one point from his score of this event.

In the third event, which is the Brahma bull riding event, the play ofthe game is exactly the same as that of the bronc riding event. The playof this event will, therefore, not be again described.

It will be seen now that the game of this invention does simulate inpractically all details an actual rodeo competition. The game has beento be attractive to adults as well as children and in addition to {thegame aspects thereof, it serves as a very entertaining toy to childrentoo young to appreciate the playv of the game.

Although the now preferred embodiment of the present invention has beenshown and described herein, it is to be understood that the invention isnot to be limited thereto, for it is susceptible to changes in form anddetail within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, for example, allgame pieces could be formed as substantially fiat elements of cardboardor other suitable material in the form of silhouettes of cowboys andanimals rather than molded pieces of a plastic, and yet retain all ofthe features of the game pieces as herein shown and described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for playing a game simulating a rodeo, comprising: asubstantially rectangular board; a plurality of post-like membersvertically projecting from one surface of said board; a plurality ofrail-like members horizontally interconnecting said post-like members toform an elongate railed enclosure on said board representing a rodeoarena; a plurality of play demarking areas spacedly arranged across saidarena; at least a pair of spaced apart railed pens at each end of saidarena, said pens defining a starting chute at one end of said enclosureand an exit passage at the opposite end; a plurality of game pieces inthe form of cowboys; means on said game pieces so constructed and as tointerengage with said railed enclosure to mount said game pieces thereonduring the play of said game; a plurality of game pieces in the form ofanimals ridden by cowboys in a rodeo; and means on said game pieces inthe form of animals ridden by cowboys in a rodeo for interengaging withmeans carried by the game pieces in the form of cowboys to detachablyhold the latter on said animal game pieces, whereby a cowboy game pieceand a game piece simulating an animal ridden may be moved from one playdemarking area to another as a unitary game piece.

2. Apparatus rodeo, comprising: a substantially rectangular board; aplurality of post-like members vertically projecting Irom one suriace ofsaid board; a plurality or rail-like members horizontallyinterconnecting said post-like members to define a railed enclosure onsaid board open at both ends thereor'; a plurahty of play oem rli arSpaceuly arranged across said enclosure and leading from one opening tothe other; a plurarity or game pieces in the rorm or cowboys; means onsaid game pieces so constructed and arranged as to inter-en age with theupper ranlike member of said enclosure to mount said game piecesthereon; a plurality of game pieces in the term of animals ridden bycowboys in a rodeo; and means on said game pieces in the form of animalsridden by cowboys in a rodeo for interengaging with means carried by thegame arranged for playing a game simulating a pieces in the form ofcowboys to hold the lattei on said animal game pieces against accidentalseparation, whereby a cowboy game piece and a game piece simulating ananimal ridden may be moved fromone play demarking area to another as aunitary game pi'ece.

3. Apparatusas set forth in claim 2 and in which the inner sides of thelegs of the cowboy game pieces are formed as substantially parallelplanar surfaces at least for a portion of their length, and the oppositesides of the game pieces simulating animals ridden are each formed withgrooves; having a planar wall, said grooves recalving-the legs of thecowboy game pieces with the planar surfaces thereof in facewiseengagement with planar wall surfaces of the grooves.

4. Apparatus for playing a rodeo game, comprising: a board; posts andrails defining an elongated enclosure positioned on said boardrepresenting a rodeo arena; railed pens spaced apart at one end ortheenclosure defining a starting chute; railed pens spaced apart at the endof the arena opposite the starting chute defining an exit passage; aplurality of game pieces in the figures of cowboys, at least some ofwhich are formed in sitting position with knees spread apart, a slotbeing provided across the seat of the cowboy which is adapted to receivethe top rail of the enclosure and support the cowboy thereon in sittingposition, and a plurality of game pieces in the figures of horses; thelegs of the cowboy game pieces being adapted to interfit with said lastnamed game pieces, said board being marked at a plurality of points withnumbered positions, the numbers increasing from the chute to the exitpassage and demarking play areas across which a cowboy game pieceinterfittingly engaged with a horse game piece may be moved as a unitarypiece.

5. Apparatus for playing a game simulating a rodeo, comprising: asubstantially rectangular board; a plurality of post-like membersvertically projecting from one surface of said board; a plurality ofrail-like members horizontally interconnecting said post-like members todefine a railed enclosure on said board representing a rodeo arena; aplurality of play demarking areas arranged across said enclosure; aplurality of game pieces in the form of cowboys; cooperating means onsaid game pieces and said railed enclosure for mounting said game pieceson the latter; a plurality of game pieces in the form of animals riddenby cowboys in a rodeo; and 00- operating means on said animal gamepieces and the game pieces in the form of cowboys for mounting thelatter on said animal game pieces to simulate a cowboy astride ananimal, whereby a cowboy game piece and a game piece simulating ananimal ridden may be moved from one play demarking area to another as aunitary game piece.

KENNETH F. CARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES messes Rottcnburg J an, 1,193;

